Mahakumbh-2025: In a first, Prayagraj airport handles over 100 flights in a day
Prayagraj Airport sees record passenger numbers during Mahakumbh-2025, with over 20,000 travelers on peak days, following major upgrades and expanded capacity.
It is not just the railway stations and roads leading into Prayagraj that are dealing with heavy devotee movement as they continue to pour into and out of the Mahakumbh city. Even the Prayagraj Airport has been humming with activity, setting records.
The airport completed a century of scheduled flight operations in a single day, on February 16. A record 20,297 passengers travelled (the highest ever in a single day) on 120 scheduled flights.
Earlier, on February 15, again 120 scheduled flights were operated, Prayagraj airport officials said. This was the highest number of scheduled flights in a day, after the construction of the airport. On February 15, 19,822 passengers travelled on 120 scheduled flights, they added.
Prayagraj Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 16, 2018 and made functional with flight operations on January 1, 2019 just before the formal start of Kumbh-2019.
Records show that on February 16, 2025, 10,152 passengers arrived on board 60 scheduled flights while 10,145 flew out on 60 flights. Likewise, on February 15, 10,300 arrived on board 60 scheduled flights, while 9,522 flew out on another 60 scheduled flights.
Earlier, on February 13, 16,310 passengers had travelled by air on board 96 flights, and which till then was the highest ever scheduled flights in a day for the airport.
In February 2025, more than 13,000 passengers travelled by air every day. Data shows that between February 1 and February 16, a total of 2,14,593 passengers travelled on board 1,288 scheduled flights amounting to an average of 13,412 passengers per day with the airport handling 81 scheduled flights per day on average.
This figure of passengers kept rising gradually.
Between February 1 and February 3, the figure hovered between 10,599 and 9,605 on 62 to 64 flights per day before jumping to 11,560 to 13,915 on board 72 to 86 flights each day between February 4 and February 12 before peaking on February 15 and February 16.
On the day of the start of Mahakumbh-2025 on January 13, the Prayagraj airport handled 33 scheduled flights with 4,252 passengers. The figure reached 8,378 passengers on 56 flights on January 28 before reaching 7,581 passengers on 48 flights on January 30.
The airport handled 686 flights in 19 days of January 2025 since the start of the fair carrying 97,943 passengers on 686 flights averaging 36 flights per day carrying 5,155 passengers on board them.
Since the start of Mahakumbh-2025 (January 13) till February 16, the airport has handled around 3,12,536 passengers on board 1,974 flights in 35 days on an average of 8,929 passengers on board 57 flights per day.
Though officials did not share monthly data of scheduled flights and passengers before the start of Mahakumbh-2025, the airport handled just 16 scheduled flights carrying 2,059 passengers on January 10 and 24 scheduled flights carrying 3,012 passengers on January 11—amounting to a seven-time rise in passenger handling and a six-time rise in flight handling difference between pre and post Mahakumbh-2025 figure.
Modernisation and enhanced passenger experience
In the run up to Mahakumbh-2025, the Prayagraj airport had undergone a major expansion in passenger and flight handling capacity. The focus was on enhancing traveller amenities and ensuring that the airport can handle the increased passenger volume expected during the Mahakumbh.
The airport is currently connected to 17 cities across India, a significant increase from just eight cities in December 2024. With the introduction of over five dozen new flights in January 2025, Prayagraj Airport is now a well-connected hub for devotees traveling from various parts of the country.
The modernisation of Prayagraj Airport includes a substantial expansion of the terminal area, which has grown from 6,700 square meters to 25,500 square meters. This expansion allows the airport to handle a peak-hour capacity of 1,080 passengers, up from 540.
A new terminal has been made operational to accommodate an additional 1,620 passengers. Parking capacity has also increased from 200 to 600 vehicles, and the number of check-in counters has risen from 8 to 42.
Passenger comfort has been a priority in this transformation. The airport now features lounges, a childcare room, and an increase in boarding bridges from 2 to 6. Food and beverage counters have been expanded, including the introduction of the UDAN Yatri Cafe for affordable dining options. New services, such as meet-and-greet assistance for differently abled passengers and prepaid taxi counters, have been implemented to enhance the travel experience.
OFFICIALSPEAK
“The major revamp undertaken at Prayagraj airport in the run up to Mahakumbh-2025 is proving to be a great help in dealing with the rise in the number of flights and passengers that the mega fair is attracting. Owing to the added capacity and facilities, we are able to manage a high number of flights as well as passengers smoothly.”
Mukesh Chandra Upadhyay, director, Prayagraj Airport